Direct linking within applications

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, a method includes: receiving, by a computing device, information indicative of user interface (UI) elements of an application and inputs received by the UI elements; identifying, by the computing device, a feature of the application based on the received information; generating, by the computing device, a direct link to the feature by determining, from the received information, one or more of the UI elements that received inputs to navigate to the feature; and providing, by the computing device, the direct link to one or more users of the application, wherein in response to an input received on the direct link, the direct link interacts with the one or more UI elements to navigate to the application feature.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/940,482 filed on Jul.28, 2020, the contents of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Computer applications (or “apps”) may include features that requiremultiple user inputs to access. Such features can include pages,sections, forms, video, and other functionality or content provided bythe app. For example, web-based apps, including many Software as aService (SaaS) apps, may have features that are accessible only afternavigating to a uniform resource locator (URL) and clicking, tapping,scrolling, or otherwise interacting with multiple user interface (UI)elements. Some web apps are designed as so-called “single-pageapplications,” meaning they interact with the web browser by dynamicallyreplacing some, or all, web page content without changing the URL.

SUMMARY

Existing systems that provide access to web-based apps do not provide ageneral mechanism for directly linking to arbitrary features withinthose apps. For example, with single-page apps, web browser bookmarkscannot be used to link to features for which the URL does not change.Likewise, some apps use dynamic URLs that can vary for different usersor for the same user across different sessions. For example, the URLcorresponding to a particular feature may include query parameters,session parameters, or other dynamic data. It is appreciated herein thatrequiring users to manually navigate to app features, particularlyfrequently used features, is inefficient and can result in significantloss of productivity.

Accordingly, disclosed herein are embodiments of systems and methods forproviding direct linking to features within apps. Disclosed embodimentscan, in general, be used to link to arbitrary features with existingapps and within apps not yet in existence, regardless of the structureof the app or the number of steps required to access the feature.Disclosed embodiments can automatically monitor URL changes and userinputs to collect page navigation and user interaction data, analyze thecollected data to determine causal relationships between particular userinterface (UI) elements and URLs, and generate direct links based onsuch analysis. Disclosed embodiments can generate direct links thatnavigate to features in a minimum number of steps based on an analysisof crowdsourced data. Disclosed embodiments generate direct links thatare operable for different users and/or sessions. Disclosed embodimentsgenerate direct links as scripts that can be used to “replay” manualuser interactions and/or page navigations, provide a single-inputmechanism to navigate to app features. Disclosed embodiments canidentify commonly accessed features and automatically generate directlinks to those features. Disclosed embodiments can be used inconjunction with speech or assistive devices and software to providedirect linking within apps to users who are unable to, or prefer not to,interact with such apps using conventional means.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method can include:receiving, by a computing device, information indicative of userinterface (UI) elements of an application and inputs received by the UIelements; identifying, by the computing device, a feature of theapplication based on the received information; generating, by thecomputing device, a direct link to the feature by determining, from thereceived information, one or more of the UI elements that receivedinputs to navigate to the feature; and providing, by the computingdevice, the direct link to one or more users of the application, whereinin response to an input received on the direct link, the direct linkinteracts with the one or more UI elements to navigate to theapplication feature.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a device caninclude a processor and a non-volatile memory storing computer programcode. The computer program code, when executed on the processor, cancause the processor to execute a process operable to: receiveinformation indicative of user interface (UI) elements of an applicationand inputs received by the UI elements; identify a feature of theapplication based on the received information; generate a direct link tothe feature by determining, from the received information, one or moreof the UI elements that received inputs to navigate to the feature; andprovide the direct link to one or more users of the application, whereinin response to an input received on the direct link, the direct linkinteracts with the one or more UI elements to navigate to theapplication feature.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitorycomputer readable medium can store program instructions that areexecutable to: receive, by a computing device, information indicative ofuser interface (UI) elements of an application and inputs received bythe UI elements; identify, by the computing device, a feature of theapplication based on the received information; generate, by thecomputing device, a direct link to the feature by determining, from thereceived information, one or more of the UI elements that receivedinputs to navigate to the feature; and provide, by the computing device,the direct link to one or more users of the application, wherein inresponse to an input received on the direct link, the direct linkinteracts with the one or more UI elements to navigate to theapplication feature.

In some embodiments, the generation of the direct link can includegenerating a script having a sequence of steps for interacting with theone or more UI elements, wherein in response to the input received onthe direct link, the sequence of steps are executed to navigate to theapplication feature. In some embodiments, the sequence of steps caninclude a first step of navigating to a static URL and a last step oftriggering an input on one of the UI elements. In some embodiments, themethod can include analyzing the received information to determine thata first one of the UI elements can be accessed using a static URL and asecond one of the UI elements cannot be accessed using a static URL.

In some embodiments, the received information may be indicative ofinputs used to access the UI elements by a plurality of users during aplurality of user sessions and the method can include analyzing thereceived information to determine that a first one of the UI elementscan be accessed using a URL that is the same for the same user acrossdifferent user sessions and different for different users. In someembodiments, the received information may indicate that ones of the UIelements can be accessed via an input on others of the UI elements. Insome embodiments, the identification of the feature can includedetermining a frequency at which one or more of the UI elements areaccessed. In some embodiments, the identification of the feature caninclude receiving an input on one or more UI elements associated withthe feature.

In some embodiments, providing of the direct link to the one or moreusers of the application can include sending the direct link to clientdevices configured to display the direct link within a directory ofdirect links accessible to the one or more users. In some embodiments,providing of the direct link to the one or more users of the applicationcan include publishing the direct link to a search engine accessible byclient devices configured to run the application. In some embodiments,in response to the input received on the direct link, the direct linkmay interact with the one or more UI elements to navigate to theapplication feature without display of other portions of the applicationthat do not include the feature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The manner of making and using the disclosed subject matter may beappreciated by reference to the detailed description in connection withthe drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example network environment ofcomputing devices in which various aspects of the disclosure may beimplemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating selective components of anexample computing device in which various aspects of the disclosure maybe implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a cloud computing environment in which variousaspects of the concepts described herein may be implemented.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of an example system in which resourcemanagement services may manage and streamline access by clients toresource feeds (via one or more gateway services) and/orsoftware-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing an example implementation of thesystem shown in FIG. 4A in which various resource management services aswell as a gateway service are located within a cloud computingenvironment.

FIG. 4C is a block diagram similar to that shown in FIG. 4B but in whichthe available resources are represented by a single box labeled “systemsof record,” and further in which several different services are includedamong the resource management services.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system that provides direct linking toapp features, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a process for identifying app featuresand generating direct links thereto, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing a process for collecting user interface(UI) data that can be used to generate direct links to app features,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing a process for generating a direct linksto app features, according to some embodiments.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale, or inclusive of all elementsof a system, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustratingthe concepts, structures, and techniques sought to be protected herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is an example network environment 101 ofcomputing devices in which various aspects of the disclosure may beimplemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.As shown, environment 101 includes one or more client machines102A-102N, one or more remote machines 106A-106N, one or more networks104, 104′, and one or more appliances 108 installed within environment101. Client machines 102A-102N communicate with remote machines106A-106N via networks 104, 104′.

In some embodiments, client machines 102A-102N communicate with remotemachines 106A-106N via an intermediary appliance 108. The illustratedappliance 108 is positioned between networks 104, 104′ and may also bereferred to as a network interface or gateway. In some embodiments,appliance 108 may operate as an application delivery controller (ADC) toprovide clients with access to business applications and other datadeployed in a datacenter, a cloud computing environment, or delivered asSoftware as a Service (SaaS) across a range of client devices, and/orprovide other functionality such as load balancing, etc. In someembodiments, multiple appliances 108 may be used, and appliance(s) 108may be deployed as part of network 104 and/or 104′.

Client machines 102A-102N may be generally referred to as clientmachines 102, local machines 102, clients 102, client nodes 102, clientcomputers 102, client devices 102, computing devices 102, endpoints 102,or endpoint nodes 102. Remote machines 106A-106N may be generallyreferred to as servers 106 or a server farm 106. In some embodiments, aclient device 102 may have the capacity to function as both a clientnode seeking access to resources provided by server 106 and as a server106 providing access to hosted resources for other client devices102A-102N. Networks 104, 104′ may be generally referred to as a network104. Networks 104 may be configured in any combination of wired andwireless networks.

Server 106 may be any server type such as, for example: a file server;an application server; a web server; a proxy server; an appliance; anetwork appliance; a gateway; an application gateway; a gateway server;a virtualization server; a deployment server; a Secure Sockets LayerVirtual Private Network (SSL VPN) server; a firewall; a web server; aserver executing an active directory; a cloud server; or a serverexecuting an application acceleration program that provides firewallfunctionality, application functionality, or load balancingfunctionality.

Server 106 may execute, operate or otherwise provide an application thatmay be any one of the following: software; a program; executableinstructions; a virtual machine; a hypervisor; a web browser; aweb-based client; a client-server application; a thin-client computingclient; an ActiveX control; a Java applet; software related to voiceover internet protocol (VoIP) communications like a soft IP telephone;an application for streaming video and/or audio; an application forfacilitating real-time-data communications; a HTTP client; a FTP client;an Oscar client; a Telnet client; or any other set of executableinstructions.

In some embodiments, server 106 may execute a remote presentationservices program or other program that uses a thin-client or aremote-display protocol to capture display output generated by anapplication executing on server 106 and transmit the application displayoutput to client device 102.

In yet other embodiments, server 106 may execute a virtual machineproviding, to a user of client device 102, access to a computingenvironment. Client device 102 may be a virtual machine. The virtualmachine may be managed by, for example, a hypervisor, a virtual machinemanager (VMM), or any other hardware virtualization technique withinserver 106.

In some embodiments, network 104 may be: a local-area network (LAN); ametropolitan area network (MAN); a wide area network (WAN); a primarypublic network; and a primary private network. Additional embodimentsmay include a network 104 of mobile telephone networks that use variousprotocols to communicate among mobile devices. For short rangecommunications within a wireless local-area network (WLAN), theprotocols may include 802.11, Bluetooth, and Near Field Communication(NFC).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating selective components of anexample computing device 100 in which various aspects of the disclosuremay be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. For instance, client devices 102, appliances 108, and/orservers 106 of FIG. 1 can be substantially similar to computing device100. As shown, computing device 100 includes one or more processors 103,a volatile memory 122 (e.g., random access memory (RAM)), a non-volatilememory 128, a user interface (UI) 123, one or more communicationsinterfaces 118, and a communications bus 150.

Non-volatile memory 128 may include: one or more hard disk drives (HDDs)or other magnetic or optical storage media; one or more solid statedrives (SSDs), such as a flash drive or other solid-state storage media;one or more hybrid magnetic and solid-state drives; and/or one or morevirtual storage volumes, such as a cloud storage, or a combination ofsuch physical storage volumes and virtual storage volumes or arraysthereof.

User interface 123 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) 124(e.g., a touchscreen, a display, etc.) and one or more input/output(I/O) devices 126 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, one or morespeakers, one or more cameras, one or more biometric scanners, one ormore environmental sensors, and one or more accelerometers, etc.).

Non-volatile memory 128 stores an operating system 115, one or moreapplications 116, and data 117 such that, for example, computerinstructions of operating system 115 and/or applications 116 areexecuted by processor(s) 103 out of volatile memory 122. In someembodiments, volatile memory 122 may include one or more types of RAMand/or a cache memory that may offer a faster response time than a mainmemory. Data may be entered using an input device of GUI 124 or receivedfrom I/O device(s) 126. Various elements of computing device 100 maycommunicate via communications bus 150.

The illustrated computing device 100 is shown merely as an exampleclient device or server and may be implemented by any computing orprocessing environment with any type of machine or set of machines thatmay have suitable hardware and/or software capable of operating asdescribed herein.

Processor(s) 103 may be implemented by one or more programmableprocessors to execute one or more executable instructions, such as acomputer program, to perform the functions of the system. As usedherein, the term “processor” describes circuitry that performs afunction, an operation, or a sequence of operations. The function,operation, or sequence of operations may be hard coded into thecircuitry or soft coded by way of instructions held in a memory deviceand executed by the circuitry. A processor may perform the function,operation, or sequence of operations using digital values and/or usinganalog signals.

In some embodiments, the processor can be embodied in one or moreapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), microprocessors,digital signal processors (DSPs), graphics processing units (GPUs),microcontrollers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmablelogic arrays (PLAs), multi-core processors, or general-purpose computerswith associated memory.

Processor 103 may be analog, digital or mixed-signal. In someembodiments, processor 103 may be one or more physical processors, orone or more virtual (e.g., remotely located or cloud computingenvironment) processors. A processor including multiple processor coresand/or multiple processors may provide functionality for parallel,simultaneous execution of instructions or for parallel, simultaneousexecution of one instruction on more than one piece of data.

Communications interfaces 118 may include one or more interfaces toenable computing device 100 to access a computer network such as a LocalArea Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Personal Area Network(PAN), or the Internet through a variety of wired and/or wirelessconnections, including cellular connections.

In described embodiments, computing device 100 may execute anapplication on behalf of a user of a client device. For example,computing device 100 may execute one or more virtual machines managed bya hypervisor. Each virtual machine may provide an execution sessionwithin which applications execute on behalf of a user or a clientdevice, such as a hosted desktop session. Computing device 100 may alsoexecute a terminal services session to provide a hosted desktopenvironment. Computing device 100 may provide access to a remotecomputing environment including one or more applications, one or moredesktop applications, and one or more desktop sessions in which one ormore applications may execute.

Referring to FIG. 3, a cloud computing environment 300 is depicted,which may also be referred to as a cloud environment, cloud computing orcloud network. The cloud computing environment 300 can provide thedelivery of shared computing services and/or resources to multiple usersor tenants. For example, the shared resources and services can include,but are not limited to, networks, network bandwidth, servers,processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, databases,software, hardware, analytics, and intelligence.

In the cloud computing environment 300, one or more clients 102 a-102 n(such as those described above) are in communication with a cloudnetwork 304. The cloud network 304 may include back-end platforms, e.g.,servers, storage, server farms or data centers. The users or clients 102a-102 n can correspond to a single organization/tenant or multipleorganizations/tenants. More particularly, in one example implementationthe cloud computing environment 300 may provide a private cloud servinga single organization (e.g., enterprise cloud). In another example, thecloud computing environment 300 may provide a community or public cloudserving multiple organizations/tenants.

In some embodiments, a gateway appliance(s) or service may be utilizedto provide access to cloud computing resources and virtual sessions. Byway of example, Citrix Gateway, provided by Citrix Systems, Inc., may bedeployed on-premises or on public clouds to provide users with secureaccess and single sign-on to virtual, SaaS and web applications.Furthermore, to protect users from web threats, a gateway such as CitrixSecure Web Gateway may be used. Citrix Secure Web Gateway uses acloud-based service and a local cache to check for URL reputation andcategory.

In still further embodiments, the cloud computing environment 300 mayprovide a hybrid cloud that is a combination of a public cloud and aprivate cloud. Public clouds may include public servers that aremaintained by third parties to the clients 102 a-102 n or theenterprise/tenant. The servers may be located off-site in remotegeographical locations or otherwise.

The cloud computing environment 300 can provide resource pooling toserve multiple users via clients 102 a-102 n through a multi-tenantenvironment or multi-tenant model with different physical and virtualresources dynamically assigned and reassigned responsive to differentdemands within the respective environment. The multi-tenant environmentcan include a system or architecture that can provide a single instanceof software, an application or a software application to serve multipleusers. In some embodiments, the cloud computing environment 300 canprovide on-demand self-service to unilaterally provision computingcapabilities (e.g., server time, network storage) across a network formultiple clients 102 a-102 n. By way of example, provisioning servicesmay be provided through a system such as Citrix Provisioning Services(Citrix PVS). Citrix PVS is a software-streaming technology thatdelivers patches, updates, and other configuration information tomultiple virtual desktop endpoints through a shared desktop image. Thecloud computing environment 300 can provide an elasticity to dynamicallyscale out or scale in response to different demands from one or moreclients 102. In some embodiments, the cloud computing environment 300can include or provide monitoring services to monitor, control and/orgenerate reports corresponding to the provided shared services andresources.

In some embodiments, the cloud computing environment 300 may providecloud-based delivery of different types of cloud computing services,such as Software as a service (SaaS) 308, Platform as a Service (PaaS)312, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) 316, and Desktop as a Service(DaaS) 320, for example. IaaS may refer to a user renting the use ofinfrastructure resources that are needed during a specified time period.IaaS providers may offer storage, networking, servers or virtualizationresources from large pools, allowing the users to quickly scale up byaccessing more resources as needed. Examples of IaaS include AMAZON WEBSERVICES provided by Amazon.com, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., RACKSPACECLOUD provided by Rackspace US, Inc., of San Antonio, Tex., GoogleCompute Engine provided by Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., orRIGHTSCALE provided by RightScale, Inc., of Santa Barbara, Calif.

PaaS providers may offer functionality provided by IaaS, including,e.g., storage, networking, servers or virtualization, as well asadditional resources such as, e.g., the operating system, middleware, orruntime resources. Examples of PaaS include WINDOWS AZURE provided byMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Google App Engine provided byGoogle Inc., and HEROKU provided by Heroku, Inc. of San Francisco,Calif.

SaaS providers may offer the resources that PaaS provides, includingstorage, networking, servers, virtualization, operating system,middleware, or runtime resources. In some embodiments, SaaS providersmay offer additional resources including, e.g., data and applicationresources. Examples of SaaS include GOOGLE APPS provided by Google Inc.,SALESFORCE provided by Salesforce.com Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., orOFFICE 365 provided by Microsoft Corporation. Examples of SaaS may alsoinclude data storage providers, e.g. Citrix ShareFile from CitrixSystems, DROPBOX provided by Dropbox, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif.,Microsoft SKYDRIVE provided by Microsoft Corporation, Google Driveprovided by Google Inc., or Apple ICLOUD provided by Apple Inc. ofCupertino, Calif.

Similar to SaaS, DaaS (which is also known as hosted desktop services)is a form of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) in which virtualdesktop sessions are typically delivered as a cloud service along withthe apps used on the virtual desktop. Citrix Cloud from Citrix Systemsis one example of a DaaS delivery platform. DaaS delivery platforms maybe hosted on a public cloud computing infrastructure such as AZURE CLOUDfrom Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. (herein “Azure”), or AMAZONWEB SERVICES provided by Amazon.com, Inc., of Seattle, Wash. (herein“AWS”), for example. In the case of Citrix Cloud, Citrix Workspace appmay be used as a single-entry point for bringing apps, files anddesktops together (whether on-premises or in the cloud) to deliver aunified experience.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of an example system 400 in which one or moreresource management services 402 may manage and streamline access by oneor more clients 202 to one or more resource feeds 406 (via one or moregateway services 408) and/or one or more software-as-a-service (SaaS)applications 410. In particular, the resource management service(s) 402may employ an identity provider 412 to authenticate the identity of auser of a client 202 and, following authentication, identify one of moreresources the user is authorized to access. In response to the userselecting one of the identified resources, the resource managementservice(s) 402 may send appropriate access credentials to the requestingclient 202, and the client 202 may then use those credentials to accessthe selected resource. For the resource feed(s) 406, the client 202 mayuse the supplied credentials to access the selected resource via agateway service 408. For the SaaS application(s) 410, the client 202 mayuse the credentials to access the selected application directly.

The client(s) 202 may be any type of computing devices capable ofaccessing the resource feed(s) 406 and/or the SaaS application(s) 410,and may, for example, include a variety of desktop or laptop computers,smartphones, tablets, etc. The resource feed(s) 406 may include any ofnumerous resource types and may be provided from any of numerouslocations. In some embodiments, for example, the resource feed(s) 406may include one or more systems or services for providing virtualapplications and/or desktops to the client(s) 202, one or more filerepositories and/or file sharing systems, one or more secure browserservices, one or more access control services for the SaaS applications410, one or more management services for local applications on theclient(s) 202, one or more internet enabled devices or sensors, etc.Each of the resource management service(s) 402, the resource feed(s)406, the gateway service(s) 408, the SaaS application(s) 410, and theidentity provider 412 may be located within an on-premises data centerof an organization for which the system 400 is deployed, within one ormore cloud computing environments, or elsewhere.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing an example implementation of thesystem 400 shown in FIG. 4A in which various resource managementservices 402 as well as a gateway service 408 are located within a cloudcomputing environment 414. The cloud computing environment may, forexample, include Microsoft Azure Cloud, Amazon Web Services, GoogleCloud, or IBM Cloud.

For any of illustrated components (other than the client 202) that arenot based within the cloud computing environment 414, cloud connectors(not shown in FIG. 4B) may be used to interface those components withthe cloud computing environment 414. Such cloud connectors may, forexample, run on Windows Server instances hosted in resource locationsand may create a reverse proxy to route traffic between the site(s) andthe cloud computing environment 414. In the illustrated example, thecloud-based resource management services 402 include a client interfaceservice 416, an identity service 418, a resource feed service 420, and asingle sign-on service 422. As shown, in some embodiments, the client202 may use a resource access application 424 to communicate with theclient interface service 416 as well as to present a user interface onthe client 202 that a user 426 can operate to access the resourcefeed(s) 406 and/or the SaaS application(s) 410. The resource accessapplication 424 may either be installed on the client 202, or may beexecuted by the client interface service 416 (or elsewhere in the system400) and accessed using a web browser (not shown in FIG. 4B) on theclient 202.

As explained in more detail below, in some embodiments, the resourceaccess application 424 and associated components may provide the user426 with a personalized, all-in-one interface enabling instant andseamless access to all the user's SaaS and web applications, files,virtual Windows applications, virtual Linux applications, desktops,mobile applications, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops™, localapplications, and other data.

When the resource access application 424 is launched or otherwiseaccessed by the user 426, the client interface service 416 may send asign-on request to the identity service 418. In some embodiments, theidentity provider 412 may be located on the premises of the organizationfor which the system 400 is deployed. The identity provider 412 may, forexample, correspond to an on-premises Windows Active Directory. In suchembodiments, the identity provider 412 may be connected to thecloud-based identity service 418 using a cloud connector (not shown inFIG. 4B), as described above. Upon receiving a sign-on request, theidentity service 418 may cause the resource access application 424 (viathe client interface service 416) to prompt the user 426 for the user'sauthentication credentials (e.g., user-name and password). Uponreceiving the user's authentication credentials, the client interfaceservice 416 may pass the credentials along to the identity service 418,and the identity service 418 may, in turn, forward them to the identityprovider 412 for authentication, for example, by comparing them againstan Active Directory domain. Once the identity service 418 receivesconfirmation from the identity provider 412 that the user's identity hasbeen properly authenticated, the client interface service 416 may send arequest to the resource feed service 420 for a list of subscribedresources for the user 426.

In other embodiments (not illustrated in FIG. 4B), the identity provider412 may be a cloud-based identity service, such as a Microsoft AzureActive Directory. In such embodiments, upon receiving a sign-on requestfrom the client interface service 416, the identity service 418 may, viathe client interface service 416, cause the client 202 to be redirectedto the cloud-based identity service to complete an authenticationprocess. The cloud-based identity service may then cause the client 202to prompt the user 426 to enter the user's authentication credentials.Upon determining the user's identity has been properly authenticated,the cloud-based identity service may send a message to the resourceaccess application 424 indicating the authentication attempt wassuccessful, and the resource access application 424 may then inform theclient interface service 416 of the successfully authentication. Oncethe identity service 418 receives confirmation from the client interfaceservice 416 that the user's identity has been properly authenticated,the client interface service 416 may send a request to the resource feedservice 420 for a list of subscribed resources for the user 426.

For each configured resource feed, the resource feed service 420 mayrequest an identity token from the single sign-on service 422. Theresource feed service 420 may then pass the feed-specific identitytokens it receives to the points of authentication for the respectiveresource feeds 406. Each resource feed 406 may then respond with a listof resources configured for the respective identity. The resource feedservice 420 may then aggregate all items from the different feeds andforward them to the client interface service 416, which may cause theresource access application 424 to present a list of available resourceson a user interface of the client 202. The list of available resourcesmay, for example, be presented on the user interface of the client 202as a set of selectable icons or other elements corresponding toaccessible resources. The resources so identified may, for example,include one or more virtual applications and/or desktops (e.g., CitrixVirtual Apps and Desktops™, VMware Horizon, Microsoft RDS, etc.), one ormore file repositories and/or file sharing systems (e.g., Sharefile®,one or more secure browsers, one or more internet enabled devices orsensors, one or more local applications installed on the client 202,and/or one or more SaaS applications 410 to which the user 426 hassubscribed. The lists of local applications and the SaaS applications410 may, for example, be supplied by resource feeds 406 for respectiveservices that manage which such applications are to be made available tothe user 426 via the resource access application 424. Examples of SaaSapplications 410 that may be managed and accessed as described hereininclude Microsoft Office 365 applications, SAP SaaS applications,Workday applications, etc.

For resources other than local applications and the SaaS application(s)410, upon the user 426 selecting one of the listed available resources,the resource access application 424 may cause the client interfaceservice 416 to forward a request for the specified resource to theresource feed service 420. In response to receiving such a request, theresource feed service 420 may request an identity token for thecorresponding feed from the single sign-on service 422. The resourcefeed service 420 may then pass the identity token received from thesingle sign-on service 422 to the client interface service 416 where alaunch ticket for the resource may be generated and sent to the resourceaccess application 424. Upon receiving the launch ticket, the resourceaccess application 424 may initiate a secure session to the gatewayservice 408 and present the launch ticket. When the gateway service 408is presented with the launch ticket, it may initiate a secure session tothe appropriate resource feed and present the identity token to thatfeed to seamlessly authenticate the user 426. Once the sessioninitializes, the client 202 may proceed to access the selected resource.

When the user 426 selects a local application, the resource accessapplication 424 may cause the selected local application to launch onthe client 202. When the user 426 selects a SaaS application 410, theresource access application 424 may cause the client interface service416 request a one-time uniform resource locator (URL) from the gatewayservice 408 as well a preferred browser for use in accessing the SaaSapplication 410. After the gateway service 408 returns the one-time URLand identifies the preferred browser, the client interface service 416may pass that information along to the resource access application 424.The client 202 may then launch the identified browser and initiate aconnection to the gateway service 408. The gateway service 408 may thenrequest an assertion from the single sign-on service 422. Upon receivingthe assertion, the gateway service 408 may cause the identified browseron the client 202 to be redirected to the logon page for identified SaaSapplication 410 and present the assertion. The SaaS may then contact thegateway service 408 to validate the assertion and authenticate the user426. Once the user has been authenticated, communication may occurdirectly between the identified browser and the selected SaaSapplication 410, thus allowing the user 426 to use the client 202 toaccess the selected SaaS application 410.

In some embodiments, the preferred browser identified by the gatewayservice 408 may be a specialized browser embedded in the resource accessapplication 424 (when the resource application is installed on theclient 202) or provided by one of the resource feeds 406 (when theresource application 424 is located remotely), e.g., via a securebrowser service. In such embodiments, the SaaS applications 410 mayincorporate enhanced security policies to enforce one or morerestrictions on the embedded browser. Examples of such policies include(1) requiring use of the specialized browser and disabling use of otherlocal browsers, (2) restricting clipboard access, e.g., by disablingcut/copy/paste operations between the application and the clipboard, (3)restricting printing, e.g., by disabling the ability to print fromwithin the browser, (3) restricting navigation, e.g., by disabling thenext and/or back browser buttons, (4) restricting downloads, e.g., bydisabling the ability to download from within the SaaS application, and(5) displaying watermarks, e.g., by overlaying a screen-based watermarkshowing the username and IP address associated with the client 202 suchthat the watermark will appear as displayed on the screen if the usertries to print or take a screenshot. Further, in some embodiments, whena user selects a hyperlink within a SaaS application, the specializedbrowser may send the URL for the link to an access control service(e.g., implemented as one of the resource feed(s) 406) for assessment ofits security risk by a web filtering service. For approved URLs, thespecialized browser may be permitted to access the link. For suspiciouslinks, however, the web filtering service may have the client interfaceservice 416 send the link to a secure browser service, which may start anew virtual browser session with the client 202, and thus allow the userto access the potentially harmful linked content in a safe environment.

In some embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of providing the user 426with a list of resources that are available to be accessed individually,as described above, the user 426 may instead be permitted to choose toaccess a streamlined feed of event notifications and/or availableactions that may be taken with respect to events that are automaticallydetected with respect to one or more of the resources. This streamlinedresource activity feed, which may be customized for each user 426, mayallow users to monitor important activity involving all of theirresources—SaaS applications, web applications, Windows applications,Linux applications, desktops, file repositories and/or file sharingsystems, and other data through a single interface, without needing toswitch context from one resource to another. Further, eventnotifications in a resource activity feed may be accompanied by adiscrete set of user-interface elements, e.g., “approve,” “deny,” and“see more detail” buttons, allowing a user to take one or more simpleactions with respect to each event right within the user's feed. In someembodiments, such a streamlined, intelligent resource activity feed maybe enabled by one or more micro-applications, or “microapps,” that caninterface with underlying associated resources using APIs or the like.The responsive actions may be user-initiated activities that are takenwithin the microapps and that provide inputs to the underlyingapplications through the API or other interface. The actions a userperforms within the microapp may, for example, be designed to addressspecific common problems and use cases quickly and easily, adding toincreased user productivity (e.g., request personal time off, submit ahelp desk ticket, etc.). In some embodiments, notifications from suchevent-driven microapps may additionally or alternatively be pushed toclients 202 to notify a user 426 of something that requires the user'sattention (e.g., approval of an expense report, new course available forregistration, etc.).

FIG. 4C is a block diagram similar to that shown in FIG. 4B but in whichthe available resources (e.g., SaaS applications, web applications,Windows applications, Linux applications, desktops, file repositoriesand/or file sharing systems, and other data) are represented by a singlebox 428 labeled “systems of record,” and further in which severaldifferent services are included within the resource management servicesblock 402. As explained below, the services shown in FIG. 4C may enablethe provision of a streamlined resource activity feed and/ornotification process for a client 202. In the example shown, in additionto the client interface service 416 discussed above, the illustratedservices include a microapp service 430, a data integration providerservice 432, a credential wallet service 434, an active data cacheservice 436, an analytics service 438, and a notification service 440.In various embodiments, the services shown in FIG. 4C may be employedeither in addition to or instead of the different services shown in FIG.4B.

In some embodiments, a microapp may be a single use case made availableto users to streamline functionality from complex enterpriseapplications. Microapps may, for example, utilize APIs available withinSaaS, web, or home-grown applications allowing users to see contentwithout needing a full launch of the application or the need to switchcontext. Absent such microapps, users would need to launch anapplication, navigate to the action they need to perform, and thenperform the action. Microapps may streamline routine tasks forfrequently performed actions and provide users the ability to performactions within the resource access application 424 without having tolaunch the native application. The system shown in FIG. 4C may, forexample, aggregate relevant notifications, tasks, and insights, andthereby give the user 426 a dynamic productivity tool. In someembodiments, the resource activity feed may be intelligently populatedby utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)algorithms. Further, in some implementations, microapps may beconfigured within the cloud computing environment 414, thus givingadministrators a powerful tool to create more productive workflows,without the need for additional infrastructure. Whether pushed to a useror initiated by a user, microapps may provide short cuts that simplifyand streamline key tasks that would otherwise require opening fullenterprise applications. In some embodiments, out-of-the-box templatesmay allow administrators with API account permissions to build microappsolutions targeted for their needs. Administrators may also, in someembodiments, be provided with the tools they need to build custommicroapps.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the systems of record 428 may represent theapplications and/or other resources the resource management services 402may interact with to create microapps. These resources may be SaaSapplications, legacy applications, or homegrown applications, and can behosted on-premises or within a cloud computing environment. Connectorswith out-of-the-box templates for several applications may be providedand integration with other applications may additionally oralternatively be configured through a microapp page builder. Such amicroapp page builder may, for example, connect to legacy, on-premises,and SaaS systems by creating streamlined user workflows via microappactions. The resource management services 402, and in particular thedata integration provider service 432, may, for example, support RESTAPI, JSON, OData-JSON, and 6ML. As explained in more detail below, thedata integration provider service 432 may also write back to the systemsof record, for example, using OAuth2 or a service account.

In some embodiments, the microapp service 430 may be a single-tenantservice responsible for creating the microapps. The microapp service 430may send raw events, pulled from the systems of record 428, to theanalytics service 438 for processing. The microapp service may, forexample, periodically pull active data from the systems of record 428.

In some embodiments, the active data cache service 436 may besingle-tenant and may store all configuration information and microappdata. It may, for example, utilize a per-tenant database encryption keyand per-tenant database credentials.

In some embodiments, the credential wallet service 434 may storeencrypted service credentials for the systems of record 428 and userOAuth2 tokens.

In some embodiments, the data integration provider service 432 mayinteract with the systems of record 428 to decrypt end-user credentialsand write back actions to the systems of record 428 under the identityof the end-user. The write-back actions may, for example, utilize auser's actual account to ensure all actions performed are compliant withdata policies of the application or other resource being interactedwith.

In some embodiments, the analytics service 438 may process the rawevents received from the microapps service 430 to create targeted scorednotifications and send such notifications to the notification service440.

Finally, in some embodiments, the notification service 440 may processany notifications it receives from the analytics service 438. In someimplementations, the notification service 440 may store thenotifications in a database to be later served in a notification feed.In other embodiments, the notification service 440 may additionally oralternatively send the notifications out immediately to the client 202as a push notification to the user 426.

In some embodiments, a process for synchronizing with the systems ofrecord 428 and generating notifications may operate as follows. Themicroapp service 430 may retrieve encrypted service account credentialsfor the systems of record 428 from the credential wallet service 434 andrequest a sync with the data integration provider service 432. The dataintegration provider service 432 may then decrypt the service accountcredentials and use those credentials to retrieve data from the systemsof record 428. The data integration provider service 432 may then streamthe retrieved data to the microapp service 430. The microapp service 430may store the received systems of record data in the active data cacheservice 436 and also send raw events to the analytics service 438. Theanalytics service 438 may create targeted scored notifications and sendsuch notifications to the notification service 440. The notificationservice 440 may store the notifications in a database to be later servedin a notification feed and/or may send the notifications out immediatelyto the client 202 as a push notification to the user 426.

In some embodiments, a process for processing a user-initiated actionvia a microapp may operate as follows. The client 202 may receive datafrom the microapp service 430 (via the client interface service 416) torender information corresponding to the microapp. The microapp service430 may receive data from the active data cache service 436 to supportthat rendering. The user 426 may invoke an action from the microapp,causing the resource access application 424 to send that action to themicroapp service 430 (via the client interface service 416). Themicroapp service 430 may then retrieve from the credential walletservice 434 an encrypted Oauth2 token for the system of record for whichthe action is to be invoked, and may send the action to the dataintegration provider service 432 together with the encrypted Oath2token. The data integration provider service 432 may then decrypt theOath2 token and write the action to the appropriate system of recordunder the identity of the user 426. The data integration providerservice 432 may then read back changed data from the written-to systemof record and send that changed data to the microapp service 430. Themicroapp service 432 may then update the active data cache service 436with the updated data and cause a message to be sent to the resourceaccess application 424 (via the client interface service 416) notifyingthe user 426 that the action was successfully completed.

In some embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of the functionalitydescribed above, the resource management services 402 may provide usersthe ability to search for relevant information across all files andapplications. A simple keyword search may, for example, be used to findapplication resources, SaaS applications, desktops, files, etc. Thisfunctionality may enhance user productivity and efficiency asapplication and data sprawl is prevalent across all organizations.

In other embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of the functionalitydescribed above, the resource management services 402 may enable virtualassistance functionality that allows users to remain productive and takequick actions. Users may, for example, interact with the “VirtualAssistant” and ask questions such as “What is Bob Smith's phone number?”or “What absences are pending my approval?” The resource managementservices 402 may, for example, parse these requests and respond becausethey are integrated with multiple systems on the back-end. In someembodiments, users may be able to interact with the virtual assistancethrough either the resource access application 424 or directly fromanother resource, such as Microsoft Teams. This feature may allowemployees to work efficiently, stay organized, and deliver only thespecific information being sought.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative system 500 that provides direct linking toapp features, according to some embodiments. As used herein, the term“app feature” refers to any content or functionality provided by an app,including but not limited to pages, sections, forms, videos, and othercontent or functionality provided within the app. The illustrativesystem 500 includes one or more client devices 502 a, 502 b, . . . , 502n (502 generally) connected to a server device 520. The client devices502 may be connected to server device 520 by one or more wireless orwireline computer networks.

In some embodiments, system 500 may form part a network environment,such as network environment 101 of FIG. 1. For example, client devices502 of FIG. 5 may correspond to client machines 102 of FIG. 1, andserver device 520 of FIG. 5 may correspond to one or more servers 106 ofFIG. 1.

In some embodiments, system 500 may form part a cloud computingenvironment. For example, client devices 502 of FIG. 5 may correspond toclient machines 102 of FIG. 3, and server device 520 of FIG. 5 maycorrespond to a virtual or physical server providing a cloud-basedservice, such as SaaS 308 of FIG. 3. As another example, client devices502 of FIG. 5 may correspond to clients 202 of FIGS. 4A-4C, and serverdevice 520 of FIG. 5 may correspond to a resource management service 402or, more particularly, to an analytics service 438 as shown anddescribed in the context of FIGS. 4A-4C.

Client devices 502 may include smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops,workstations, or other types of client devices configured to install andrun applications, or “apps.” For example, as shown in FIG. 5, arepresentative client device 502 a can have installed a web browser 504and a resource access app 506. The resource access app 506 may be thesame as or similar to resource access application 424 of FIGS. 4B and4C. In some embodiments, web browser 504 may be part of resource accessapp 506. For example, web browser 504 can be provided as an embeddedbrowser using the CHROMIUM EMBEDDED FRAMEWORK (CEF). Representativeclient device 502 a can include other hardware and software componentssuch as those described above in the context computing device 100 ofFIG. 2. The other client devices 502 b . . . 502 n may have the same orsimilar hardware and software components as representative client device502 a.

Illustrative server device 520 can include a UI data collection module(or “collection module”) 522, a storage device configured to store UIdata 524, a data analysis module 526, a feature identification module528, and a link generation module 530. As used herein, the term “module”refers to a collection of hardware and/or software configured to performand execute the processes, steps, or other functionality described inconjunction therewith. Server device 520 can provide one or more APIsvia which the client devices 502 can access features of the serverdevice described herein. Server device 520 can include other hardwareand software resources such as those described above in the contextcomputing device 100 of FIG. 2.

Referring again to representative client device 502 a, web browser 504can include a UI monitoring module (or “monitoring module”) 508 and alink execution module 510. In some embodiments, modules 508 and 510 canbe provided as one or more browser extensions, browser plugins, orBrowser Helper Objects (BHOs).

Monitoring module 508 can monitor activity within the web browser 504 asthe user visits and interacts with various web apps and websites. Forexample, module 508 can monitor the current page URL and detect when thecurrent page URL changes. As another example, module 508 can monitorvarious elements of the Document Object Model (DOM) and detect when auser clicks, taps, or otherwise interacts with UI elements. Suchinteractions are generally referred to herein as “user inputs” or simply“inputs.”

The DOM is an interface that treats an XML or HTML document (e.g., a webpage) as a tree structure wherein individual nodes are objectsrepresenting a part of the document. Such objects can have properties,methods, and events. For a given web page, the DOM may include nodescorresponding to the browser window, the HTML document, sections of thedocument, tables, links, forms, text inputs, buttons, etc.

In some embodiments, monitoring module 508 can use an API provided byweb browser 504 to inspect the DOM, query for DOM elements, inspect andmanipulate DOM elements, and listen for events on DOM elements. Forexample, monitoring module 508 can listen for browser navigation events(e.g., webNavigation events) to detect when the current page URLchanges. As another example, monitoring module 508 can attach eventlisteners (or “handlers”) to various UI elements such as links, forms,buttons, etc. to detect user inputs thereon (e.g., usingaddEventListener to listen for click events). In some embodimentsmonitoring module 508 can use a JavaScript API to interact with the DOM.The event listeners can include click and/or touch event listeners.

Based on the monitoring, module 508 can collect information identifyingUI elements of a web app and the user inputs that were used to accessthose UI elements during one or more user sessions. For brevity, suchinformation may be referred to herein as “UI data.” A detaileddescription of UI data that can be collected by monitoring module 508 isdescribed below. Monitoring module 508 can send collected UI data to theserver device 520 via an API provided by the server device 520. UI datacan also include information that identifies the app, user, session, andother context of the data collection.

TABLE 1 Element SN AppId UserId SessionId PageURL PageTitle ElementIdAttributes 1 HR 1 A https://h.r Main Benefits type=link, . . . 2 HR 1 Ahttps://h.r Main TimeOff type=link, . . . 3 HR 1 A https://h.r MainPerformance type=link, . . . SN AccessorType AccessorElement TargetURLAccessorURLType ScrollPosition 1 URL None TBD TBD (0, 0) 2 URL None TBDTBD (0, 100) 3 URL None TBD TBD (0, 200)

TABLE 1 shows a simplified example of UI data that can be collected byclient-side monitoring module 508 when browsing to the main page of anillustrative human resources app (“HR”). In this example, a subject uservisits the main page of the app (titled “Main”) by going to a base URLfor the app (“https://h.r”). As used herein, “subject user” refers tothe user of the client device 502 when UI data is being collected. Themain page of the app includes three UI elements: “Benefits,” “TimeOff,”and “Performance.” These elements can be identified by inspecting theDOM, for example. In practice, the disclosed subject matter can be usedto provide direct links within apps that have an arbitrary number of UIelements (e.g., tens, hundreds, or thousands of elements) per page.

As shown in TABLE 1, monitoring module 508 can collect information forindividual UI elements, which are identified by unique serial numbers(SNs) in the table. To fit on this paper, each row (or “entry” or“record”) in TABLE 1 (and in subsequent tables in this disclosure) areshown as being split across two tables that can be joined by therespective SN columns. In the example of TABLE 1, the informationcollected for individual UI elements can include AppId, UserId,SessionId, PageURL, PageTitle, ElementId, ElementAttributes,AccessorType, AccessorElement, TargetURL, AccessorURLType, andScrollPosition.

AppId can uniquely identify the app within system 500. For example,AppId can include a published name of the web app (e.g., “HR”) or aunique ID assigned to the app within system 500. UserId can include avalue (e.g., “1”) that uniquely identifies the subject user withinsystem 500, either alone or in combination with AppId (i.e., UserIds canbe reused across different apps in some embodiments). SessionId caninclude a value that uniquely identifies the user's session within thesystem 500, either alone or in combination with UserId and/or AppId(i.e., SessionIds can be reused between users and/or apps). PageURL andPageTitle can include the URL and title, respectively, of the page onwhich the present UI element was identified.

ElementId can identify UI elements on the page (e.g., the page asidentified by PageURL and/or PageTitle). For example, ElementId caninclude one or more HTML attributes defined for the UI element, such asan “id,” “name,” or “label” attribute. As another example, ElementId caninclude a string representation of an HTML element corresponding to theUI element or a child HTML element in the DOM. As another example,ElementId can correspond to a path (e.g., an XPath) or query (e.g.,jQuery selector) that identifies the element on the page.

ElementAttributes can include one or more attributes of the identifiedUI element, separate or in addition to any such attributes withinElementId. In some embodiments, ElementAttributes can indicate the typeof element, such as “link,” “section,” “form,” “video,” etc. Thisinformation can be used to identify app features, as discussed furtherbelow. The element type can be derived from the type and/or attributesof the DOM node corresponding to the present UI element, or to those ofancestor or descendant nodes.

AccessorType can indicate how the identified UI element was accessed. Insome embodiments, the possible values of AccessorType include “URL” and“DifferentPage.” “URL” indicates that the present UI Element wasdirectly accessed by navigating to a URL. “DifferentPage” indicates thatthe identified UI element was accessed in response to a user input thatdid not change the current page URL. For example, in single-page webapps, the identified UI element may become accessible in response to auser input that results in the current page being dynamically modified.

AccessorElement can indicate another UI element that received an input,causing the identified UI element to become accessible to the user. Insome embodiments, AccessorElement can include the serial number (SN) ofthe other UI element as defined in, for example, TABLE 1. In otherembodiments, AccessorElement can include attributes of the other UIElement along with its the page URL, title, or other identifyinginformation for the UI element within the app. If the identified UIelement was accessed from the base URL, then AccessorElement can be setto “None,” left blank, etc. Because TABLE 1 only includes UI elementsaccessed directly by navigating to the base URL of the illustrative app,AccessorElement is set to “None” for each of these elements.

TargetURL can identify the URL that is browsed to when a user inputoccurs on the identified UI Element. This value can be used to improvethe efficiency of generated direct links, as explained below. Monitoringmodule 508 can determine TargetURL by listening for a user input eventon the UI element and determining the new page URL, if any, resultingfrom the input. In some embodiments, where web browser 504 is aCHROMIUM-based browser, module 508 can detect a URL change using the“webNavigation” event. If the user input does not result in a new pageURL, then TargetURL may be set to “None,” left blank, etc. For certaintypes of UI elements, the TargetURL can be determined by staticallyanalyzing the HTML document to parse the URL. For example, forhyperlinks, the URL can be parsed from the “href” attribute of thecorresponding anchor tag (e.g., <a href=‘ . . . ’>). In the example ofTABLE 1, the TargetURLs for the initial three UI elements are yet to bedetermined (“TBD”). As discussed below, this and other columns of thetable can be updated over time as additional UI data is collected.

The TargetURL for a UI element can be the same for all users or can varyfor different users or across different sessions for the same user.These distinctions can be used to improve the efficiency of generateddirect links, as explained below. Accordingly, AccessorURLType caninclude a value indicating if the TargetURL for the identified UIelement is the same for all users of the app (“Static”), is the same forthe subject user across different sessions (“UserStatic”), is differentfor different users and/or sessions (“Dynamic”), or if the variabilityof the TargetURL has yet to be determined (“TBD”). TABLE 1 shows UI datacollected for a single user session and, thus, TargetURL isindeterminate (“TBD”). As discussed below, TargetURL and other columnsof the table can be updated over time as additional UI data iscollected.

ScrollPosition can identify a position of the identified UI elementrelative to the current page as displayed by the browser. For example,ScrollPosition can identify the position of the browser's horizontal andvertical scroll bars when the UI element is within the viewport (i.e.,visible to the user). The ScrollPosition can be determined using an APIprovided by the browser. As discussed below, ScrollPosition can be usedto generate direct links that automatically scroll the page so that anapp feature comes into view.

Monitoring module 508 can continually collect UI data during one or moreuser sessions. This is illustrated by TABLE 1A, which may correspond toan update of TABLE 1 for the same user session (“A”).

TABLE 1A Element SN AppId UserId SessionId PageURL PageTitle ElementIdAttributes 1 HR 1 A https://h.r Main Benefits type=link, . . . 2 HR 1 Ahttps://h.r Main TimeOff type=link, . . . 3 HR 1 A https://h.r MainPerformance type=link, . . . 4 HR 1 A https://h.r/benefits BenefitsInsurance type=form, . . . 5 HR 1 A https://h.r/timeoff-123 Time OffView PTO type=section, . . . 6 HR 1 A https://h.r/perform-123Performance Start Review type=form, . . . SN AccessorTypeAccessorElement TargetURL AccessorURLType ScrollPosition 1 URL Nonehttps://h.r/benefits TBD (0, 0) 2 URL None https://h.r/timeoff-123 TBD(0, 100) 3 URL None https://h.r/perform-123 TBD (0, 200) 4 URL SN 1 TBDTBD (0, 0) 5 URL SN 2 TBD TBD (0, 0) 6 URL SN 3 TBD TBD (0, 0)

Referring to the example of TABLE 1A, in response to an input on the“Benefits” UI element, the current page URL changes to“https://h.r/benefits” and a new UI element “Insurance” is identified.As a result, the TargetURL for the “Benefits” element (SN “1”) can beupdated to the new page URL, and a new record (SN “4”) can be added forthe “Insurance” element. Notably, the AccessorElement for the new recordcan be set to refer to the “Benefits” element (“SN 1”). Likewise, newrecords can be added in response to inputs on the “TimeOff” element (newSN “5”) and the “Performance” element (new SN “6”).

Referring to server device 520, collection module 522 can receive UIdata collected and sent by client devices 502. The UI data may includeUI data collected for multiple users and/or multiple sessions.Collection module 522 can store the received UI data in repository 524.In some embodiments, repository 524 can store UI data crowdsourced frommany users. The stored UI data 524 may be stored in a tabular formatsimilar to that of TABLE 1. In some embodiments, collection module 522can renumber the serial numbers (SNs) within UI data received fromdifferent client devices 502 such that repository 524 contains uniqueSNs.

TABLE 2 Element SN AppId UserId SessionId PageURL PageTitle ElementIdAttributes 1 HR 1 A https://h.r Main Benefits type=link, . . . 2 HR 1 Ahttps://h.r Main TimeOff type=link, . . . 3 HR 1 A https://h.r MainPerformance type=link, . . . 4 HR 1 A https://h.r/benefits BenefitsInsurance type=form, . . . 5 HR 1 A https://h.r/timeoff-123 Time OffView PTO type=section, . . . 6 HR 1 A https://h.r/perform-123Performance Start Review type=form, . . . 7 HR 1 B https://h.r MainBenefits type=link, . . . 8 HR 1 B https://h.r Main TimeOff type=link, .. . 9 HR 1 B https://h.r Main Performance type=link, . . . 10 HR 1 Bhttps://h.r/timeoff-123 Time Off View PTO type=section, . . . 11 HR 1 Bhttps://h.r/perform-456 Performance Start Review type=form, . . . 12 HR2 C https://h.r Main Benefits type=link, . . . 13 HR 2 C https://h.rMain TimeOff type=link, . . . 14 HR 2 C https://h.r Main Performancetype=link, . . . 15 HR 2 C https://h.r/benefits Benefits Insurancetype=from, . . . 16 HR 2 C https://h.r/timeoff-456 Time Off View PTOtype=section, . . . SN AccessorType AccessorElement TargetURLAccessorURLType ScrollPosition 1 URL None https://h.r/benefits TBD (0,0) 2 URL None https://h.r/timeoff-123 TBD (0, 100) 3 URL Nonehttps://h.r/perform-123 TBD (0, 200) 4 URL SN 1 TBD TBD (0, 0) 5 URL SN2 TBD TBD (0, 0) 6 URL SN 3 TBD TBD (0, 0) 7 URL None TBD TBD (0, 0) 8URL None https://h.r/timeoff-123 TBD (0, 100) 9 URL Nonehttps://h.r/perform-456 TBD (0, 200) 10 URL SN 8 TBD TBD (0, 0) 11 URLSN 9 TBD TBD (0, 0) 12 URL None https://h.r/benefits TBD (0, 0) 13 URLNone https://h.r/timeoff-456 TBD (0, 100) 14 URL None TBD TBD (0, 200)15 URL SN 12 TBD TBD (0, 0) 16 URL SN 13 TBD TBD (0, 0)

TABLE 2 shows an example of UI data that can be stored in repository 524for multiple users and sessions. The first six records (SNs “1” to “6”)are the same as in TABLE 1A. The next five records (SNs “7” to “11”) maycorrespond to UI data collected for the same user (UserId “1”) but for adifferent session (SessionId “B”). Of note, the TargetURL for the“TimeOff” element remains the same between the two session(“https://h.r/timeoff-123”) while the TargetURL for the “Performance”element changes between sessions for the same user(“https://h.r/perform-123” versus “https://h.r/perform-456”). The lastfive records in TABLE 2 (SNs “12” to “16”) can correspond to datacollected when a second user (UserId “2”) visits main page of the HR app(i.e., “https://h.r”) and the clicks on both the “Benefits” and“TimeOff” elements.

Data analysis module 526 can analyze and update stored UI data 524 toassist with direct link generation. In some embodiments, analysis module526 can determine the AccessorURLType value for a given UI element bycomparing multiple TargetURL values collected for the UI element. If theTargetURL is the same for different users (e.g., for two or moredifferent users), then module 526 can update the corresponding rows inUI data repository 524 to set AccessorURLType equal to “Static.”Otherwise, if TargetURL is the same for a user (i.e., a given UserId)across multiple sessions (i.e., different SessionIds), then module 526can set AccessorURLType equal to “UserStatic.” Otherwise, if TargetURLvaries for different users or different sessions of the same user, thenmodule 526 can set AccessorURLType equal to “Dynamic.” If there isinsufficient UI data to determine one of the above types, then module526 can set AccessorURLType equal to “TBD” or the like.

TABLE 2A shows an example of how TABLE 2 can be updated to setAccessorURLType based on UI data collected from multiple sessions andusers (i.e., based on “crowdsourced” data). In particular, data analysismodule 526 can determine that the target of the “Benefits” element is a“Static” URL, the target of the “Time Off” element is a “UserStatic”URL, and the target of the “Performance” element is a “Dynamic” URL.

TABLE 2A Element SN AppId UserId SessionId PageURL PageTitle ElementIdAttributes 1 HR 1 A https://h.r Main Benefits type=link, . . . 2 HR 1 Ahttps://h.r Main TimeOff type=link, . . . 3 HR 1 A https://h.r MainPerformance type=link, . . . 4 HR 1 A https://h.r/benefits BenefitsInsurance type=form, . . . 5 HR 1 A https://h.r/timeoff-123 Time OffView PTO type=section, . . . 6 HR 1 A https://h.r/perform-123Performance Start Review type=form, . . . 7 HR 1 B https://h.r MainBenefits type=link, . . . 8 HR 1 B https://h.r Main TimeOff type=link, .. . 9 HR 1 B https://h.r Main Performance type=link, . . . 10 HR 1 Bhttps://h.r/timeoff-123 Time Off View PTO type=section, . . . 11 HR 1 Bhttps://h.r/perform-456 Performance Start Review type=form, . . . 12 HR2 C https://h.r Main Benefits type=link, . . . 13 HR 2 C https://h.rMain TimeOff type=link, . . . 14 HR 2 C https://h.r Main Performancetype=link, . . . 15 HR 2 C https://h.r/benefits Benefits Insurancetype=form, . . . 16 HR 2 C https://h.r/timeoff-456 Time Off View PTOtype=section, . . . SN AccessorType AccessorElement TargetURLAccessorURLType ScrollPosition 1 URL None https://h.r/benefits Static(0, 0) 2 URL None https://h.r/timeoff-123 UserStatic (0, 100) 3 URL Nonehttps://h.r/perform-123 Dynamic (0, 200) 4 URL SN 1 TBD TBD (0, 0) 5 URLSN 2 TBD TBD (0, 0) 6 URL SN 3 TBD TBD (0, 0) 7 URL None TBD TBD (0, 0)8 URL None https://h.r/timeoff-123 UserStatic (0, 100) 9 URL Nonehttps:/h.r/perform-456 Dynamic (0, 200) 10 URL SN 8 TBD TBD (0, 0) 11URL SN 9 TBD TBD (0, 0) 12 URL None https://h.r/benefits Static (0, 0)13 URL None https://h.r/timeoff-456 UserStatic (0, 100) 14 URL None TBDTBD (0, 200) 15 URL SN 12 TBD TBD (0, 0) 16 URL SN 13 TBD TBD (0, 0)

In some embodiments, analysis module 526 can remove duplicate recordsfrom the UI data 524. After the AccessorURLType determination is madefor a given UI Element, duplicate records can be identified by comparingthe record corresponding to that UI element to other records in thecollected UI data. For example, referring to TABLE 2A, it can bedetermined that SN12 is a duplicate of SN1 (for which AccessorURLTypewas determined to be “Static”) based on comparing AccessorElement,ElementAttributes, Page Title, URL etc. Similarly, it can be determinedthat SN8 and SN13 are duplicates of SN2 and thus can be removed.

Feature identification module 528 can identify features of interestusing UI data 524 (e.g., crowdsourced data). For example, module 528 candetermine which pages, sections, forms, videos, or other types of UIelements are most frequently clicked/viewed/accessed for a given appbased on, for example, the corresponding number of records in repository524. For example, referring to TABLE 2A, module 528 can determine thatthe “Time Off” page is the most frequently accessed page within the “HR”app based on the number of times that PageTitle appears in the UI data524. In some embodiments, module 528 can query for certain types of UIelements using ElementAttributes. For example, module 528 can identifythe most frequently accessed form, most popular video, etc. In someembodiments, module 528 can identify app features of interest to anindividual user, to a group of users, or to all users of the app basedon the collected UI data 524. As output, module 528 can generate a listof one or more app features 529 which can be provided as input to linkgeneration module 530.

While the embodiment of FIG. 5 shows the app features 529 as beingidentified by server-side module 528, in some embodiments, app featurescan be identified by a client device 502. For example, a client device502 may provide a mechanism by which a user can manually indicate afeature of interest. In some embodiments, browser 504 or resource accessapplication 506 can provide a UI toolbox having a button or othercontrol to enable/disable a selection mode. When selection mode isenabled, browser or resource access application 506 may ignore normalinputs on a page's UI elements. Instead, clicking on the page generatesa bounding box (e.g., a distinctively colored rectangle) that the usercan position around one or more UI elements corresponding to the featureof interest. Once user has selected these UI elements, another toolboxcontrol may be enabled to initiate direct link generation for theselected UI elements (e.g., a “generate direct link” button may beenabled). In response, the client device 502 can communicate with serverdevice 520 to generate a direct link to that feature. At the same time,the selection mode may be disabled, resulting in the removal of thebounding box and restoration of normal user input handling.

Link generation module 530 can generate direct links to app features(e.g., identified features of interest 529) using the stored UI data524. An illustrative process that can be used to generate direct linksis described below in the context of FIG. 8. In some embodiments, adirect link can be implemented as a script that is executable by clientdevices 502. In some embodiments, a direct link can be implemented usingJavaScript.

Generated direct links 531 may be provided, directly or indirectly, toone or more of the client devices 502. For example, as shown in FIG. 5,direct links 531 may be sent directly from server-side module 530 toresource access application 506 and stored in a client-side repository512. Resource access application 506 can display a list or directory ofdirect links to the user, allowing users to access various app featureswith a single input. In other embodiments, direct links may be pushed toone or more client devices 502. In some embodiments, server device 520can publish direct links to search engine or other repository (notshown) external to server device 520 and client devices 502. In someembodiments, resource access application 506 include a search interfacevia which users can submit search queries. Here, generated direct links531 can be provided to the underlying search engine such that searchresults include direct links to relevant app features.

In some embodiments, a client device 502 may request (or “pull”) one ormore direct links from server device 520 using an API provided by theserver device. In some embodiments, resource access application 506 can,in response to a user input, send a request to server device 520 togenerate a direct link to a given app feature. That is, direct links canbe generated “on the fly,” according to some embodiments.

Referring again to representative client device 502 a, link executionmodule 510 can execute direct links from repository 512. For example, inresponse to a user input, resource access app 506 can retrieve a directlink from repository 512 and provide the link to module 510 forexecution. In some embodiments, link execution module 510 may correspondto a scripting engine (e.g., a JavaScript engine) provided by webbrowser 504. In some embodiments, link execution module 510 may beprovided as a part of resource access app 506.

While described embodiments rely on both a client device 502 and aserver device 520 to provide direct linking functionality, in otherembodiments, such functionality can be implemented entirely within theclient device 502. For example, UI data collection module 522, UI data524, data analysis module 526, feature identification module 528, and/orlink generation module 530 can be implemented or otherwise providedwithin a client device 502.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are flow diagrams showing illustrative processing thatcan be implemented within, for example, the system 500 of FIG. 5.Rectangular elements, herein denoted “processing blocks,” representcomputer software instructions or groups of instructions and diamondshapes elements, herein denoted decision blocks represent computersoftware instructions or groups of instructions which affect the flow ofthe processing blocks. The processing blocks may represent stepsperformed by functionally equivalent circuits such as a digital signalprocessor (DSP) circuit or an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC). The flow diagrams do not depict the syntax of any particularprogramming language but rather illustrate the functional informationone of ordinary skill in the art requires to fabricate circuits or togenerate computer software to perform the processing required of theparticular apparatus. It should be noted that many routine programelements, such as initialization of loops and variables and the use oftemporary variables may be omitted for clarity. The particular sequenceof blocks described is illustrative only and can be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the concepts, structures, and techniquessought to be protected herein. Thus, unless otherwise stated, the blocksdescribed below are unordered meaning that, when possible, the functionsrepresented by the blocks can be performed in any convenient ordesirable order.

FIG. 6 shows a process 600 for identifying app features and generatingdirect links thereto, according to some embodiments. The illustrativeprocess 600 can be implemented within a server device (e.g., serverdevice 520 of FIG. 5) or within a client device (e.g., representativeclient device 502 a of FIG. 5).

At block 602, UI data may be received from one or more client devices.The UI data may include data collected by the one or more client devicesduring a plurality of user sessions for an app. The plurality of usersessions may include sessions for a single user or sessions for multipledifferent users.

At block 604, the UI data can be analyzed to identify one or morefeatures of the app. Techniques that can be used to identify appfeatures are described above in the context of feature identificationmodule 528 of FIG. 5. In some embodiments, a user can manually identifyfeatures of interest (e.g., by providing an input on corresponding UIelements within the app).

At block 606, direct links can be generated for one or more of theidentified app features. An illustrative process for generating directlinks is described below in the context of FIG. 8.

At block 608, the generated links can be provided to one or more usersof the app. In some embodiments, this can include sending the directlinks to a resource access application installed on client devices. Insome embodiments, direct links can be published to a search engine, orother repository, accessible by the resource access application. Whenthe user clicks on a direct link, the direct link can interact with theone or more UI elements to navigate to the corresponding app feature. Insome embodiments, this can include executing a sequence of steps (e.g.,a sequence of JavaScript instructions) to navigate to the applicationfeature. In some embodiments, a direct link may navigate to the appfeature without display of other portions of the application that do notinclude the feature. For example, the direct link steps can includehiding/removing UI elements on the page that are not part of thefeature.

FIG. 7 shows a process 700 for collecting user interface (UI) data thatcan be used to generate direct links to app features, according to someembodiments. The illustrative process 700 can be implemented within aserver device or a client device.

Process 700 can begin at block 702 by initializing AccessorType to “URL”and AccessorElement to “None.” At block 704, one or more UI elements canbe identified on the current page. In some examples, event listeners canbe attached to the identified UI elements to detect if a userclicks/taps or otherwise provides an input on the identified UIelements. The event listeners can include “click” or “tap” eventlisteners. In some embodiments, an event listener can be configured tolisten for browser navigation events to detect when the current page URLchanges.

At block 706, the UI element can be recorded with the currentAccessorType and AccessorElement values. In some embodiments, block 706can be done by adding entries to a table of UI data, such as TABLE 1shown and described above. That is, along with the current values ofAccessorType and AccessorElement, one or more of following values can berecorded for each UI element: AppId, UserId, SessionId, PageURL,PageTitle, ElementId, ElementAttributes, and ScrollPosition.

At block 708, inputs or a page URL change can be detected. In someexamples, event listeners can be used to detect a user input on one ofthe UI elements or for the current page URL to change. If the currentpage URL changed but no user input was received (i.e., the URL changewas not caused by a user interaction on one of the identified UIelements), then process 700 can repeat from blocks 704 and 706 byidentifying and recording UI elements on the new page. Otherwise, if auser input was received, process 700 can proceed to block 710.

At block 710, AccessorElement is set to the UI element on which the userinput was received. In some embodiments, AccessorElement can be set tothe serial number of the UI element as defined in table of UI data. Inother embodiments, AccessorElement can be set to include attributes ofthe UI Element along with its the page URL, title, or other identifyinginformation for the UI element within the app. At block 712, if thecurrent page URL changed as a result of the user input, then (block 714)the previously recorded UI data for the UI element can updated to setTargetURL to the new page URL. In addition, at block 716, AccessorTypecan be set to “URL.” If the current page URL did not change as a resultof the user input, then AccessorType can be set to “DifferentPage.”

Process 700 can repeat from can repeat from block 704, as shown.Notably, the AccessorElement value set at block 710 and the AccessorTypevalue set at block 716 or 718 are carried forward and used in the nextoccurrence of block 706.

FIG. 8 shows a process 800 for generating a direct link to an appfeature of interest, according to some embodiments. The illustrativeprocess 800 can be implemented within a server device or a clientdevice. The process 800 can utilize UI data collected, for example,using process 700 of FIG. 7. In some embodiments, the UI data caninclude data from multiple users and/or sessions. In some embodiments,the UI data can be analyzed to determine AccessorURLType as describedabove in conjunction with data analysis module 526 of FIG. 5. Suchanalysis can be performed prior to process 800 or as part of process800.

A direct link generated by process 800 can include a script having asequence of steps executable by a client device to navigate the user tothe feature of interest. At block 801, an empty sequence of steps can beinitialized.

At block 802, a current element can be initialized to a target UIelement of the app feature of interest. For example, the target UIelement can be a page, section, form, video, etc. In addition, UI datarecorded for the target UI element can be retrieved (e.g., fromrepository 524 of FIG. 5). The retrieved UI data can include one or moreof the following previously described values: SN, AppId, UserId,SessionId, PageURL, PageTitle, ElementId, ElementAttributes,AccessorType, AccessorElement, TargetURL, AccessorURLType, andScrollPosition.

At block 803, if the AccessorURLType for the target UI element is“Dynamic” or unknown, then at block 803 a step can be prepended to thesequence to trigger an input on the target UI element. In someembodiments, the prepended step can invoke a JavaScript statement todispatch a DOM event (e.g., a “click” or “scroll” event) on the DOMelement corresponding to the UI element. If the AccessorURLType is“Static” or “UserStatic,” then no such step may be prepended.

At block 804, UI data recorded for the current element can be retrievedif necessary. During the initial iteration of process 800, the currentelement is set to the target UI element and, thus, the corresponding UIdata would have already been retrieved at block 802.

At block 805, a determination can be made as to whether the currentelement is on the app's base page, for example by checking if theelement's PageURL is equal to the app's base URL. If the current elementis on the base page, then a step of navigating to the base URL can beappended to the sequence of steps at block 811 and the process canproceed to block 820 described below. In some embodiments, the step ofnavigating to a URL can include a JavaScript statement to change thecurrent window location to the URL.

If the current element is not on the app's base, then at block 806, adetermination can be made as to whether the current element can beaccessed via a static URL. In some embodiments, this determination canbe made if AccessorURLType equals “Static” or “UserStatic.”

If the current element cannot be accessed via a static URL, then atblock 808, a step can be prepended to the sequence to trigger an inputon the AccessorElement defined for the current element. In someembodiments, the prepended step can invoke a JavaScript statement todispatch a DOM event (e.g., a “click” event) on the DOM elementcorresponding to the defined AccessorElement. To identify the DOMelement in script, a DOM selector/query can be generated using the UIdata recorded for the AccessorElement (e.g., using the ElementId and/orElementAttributes values discussed above). In some embodiments, theselector can be a jQuery selector. In some embodiments, an intermediatestep can be prepended to wait for the AccessorElement to load orotherwise become available before trigger the input. At block 810, thecurrent element can then be set to the AccessorElement and the processcan repeat from block 804, as shown.

At block 812, if the URL to access the current element is the same forall users (e.g., AccessorURLType equals “Static”), then a block 814, astep can be prepended to the sequence to navigate to the static URL andthe process can terminate by outputting the sequence of steps (block820). In this case, the direct link produced by process 800 may beoperable for all users of the app. If, at block 812, the URL to accessthe current element is not the same for all users (e.g., AccessorURLTypeequals “UserStatic”), then process 800 can determine the user-specificstatic URL for a given user (block 816) and prepend a step of navigatingthereto (block 818). In this case, the direct link produced by process800 may be operable only for that particular user (however the processcan simply be repeated to provide direct links for other users, or evenall users of the app).

In some embodiments, process 800 can add steps to the sequence to causethe browser to scroll down to the app feature as needed. For example,depending on the value of ScrollPosition defined for the target UIelement, process 800 can append a final step of adjusting the browserwindow's vertical and/or horizontal scroll position (e.g., using theJavaScript “scrollTo” function).

To further illustrate process 800, assume a direct link is to begenerated to the “Start Review” feature of the “HR” app described above.At block 802, the current element is initialized to the “Start Review”element. As shown in TABLE 2A, the AccessorURLType for this element isunknown (“TBD”). Thus, at block 803, a step to click on the “StartReview” element is prepended to the sequence of steps. In additional,because the AccessorURLType is unknown, processing proceeds to block 808and a step to click the “Performance” element (i.e., the AccessorElementfor “Start Review”) is prepended to the sequence of steps. The processproceeds to retrieve the “Performance” element as the current element asblocks 810 and 804. Because the “Performance” element is on base pagefor the app, then at block 811, the step of navigating to the base URL(“https://h.r”) can be prepended. The final direct link output byprocess 800 can include the following sequence:

1. Navigate to “https://h.r”

2. Click “Performance”

3. Click “Start Review”

This multi-step sequence can be automatically executed by a clientdevice in response to a single user input.

As another example, assume a direct link is to be generated to the“Benefits” page of the “HR” app described above. Using a crowdsourcedanalysis of collected UI data according to the present disclosure, itcan be determined that the URL to this page is static(“SameForAllUsers”) as shown in TABLE 2A. Thus, process 800 can proceedto block 814 by prepending the static URL to the “Benefits” page andgenerate an optimized direct link having a single step:

1. Navigate to “https://h.r/benefits”

It is appreciated herein that process 800 is a backtracking processcapable of generating direct links to app features that have a minimumnumber of steps by favoring direct URL navigation when possible, whileusing simulated user inputs as needed to account for dynamic URLs andfor single-page applications.

The following examples pertain to further embodiments, from whichnumerous permutations and configurations will be apparent.

Example 1 includes a method including: receiving, by a computing device,information indicative of user interface (UI) elements of an applicationand inputs received by the UI elements; identifying, by the computingdevice, a feature of the application based on the received information;generating, by the computing device, a direct link to the feature bydetermining, from the received information, one or more of the UIelements that received inputs to navigate to the feature; and providing,by the computing device, the direct link to one or more users of theapplication, wherein in response to an input received on the directlink, the direct link interacts with the one or more UI elements tonavigate to the application feature.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein thegeneration of the direct link comprises generating a script having asequence of steps for interacting with the one or more UI elements,wherein in response to the input received on the direct link, thesequence of steps are executed to navigate to the application feature.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of Example 2, wherein the sequenceof steps includes a first step of navigating to a static URL and a laststep of triggering an input on one of the UI elements.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 3, and furtherincludes analyzing the received information to determine that a firstone of the UI elements can be accessed using a static URL and a secondone of the UI elements cannot be accessed using a static URL.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 4, wherein thereceived information is indicative of inputs used to access the UIelements by a plurality of users during a plurality of user sessions,and further includes analyzing the received information to determinethat a first one of the UI elements can be accessed using a URL that isthe same for the same user across different user sessions and differentfor different users.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 5, wherein thereceived information indicates that ones of the UI elements can beaccessed via an input on others of the UI elements.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 6, wherein theidentification of the feature comprises determining a frequency at whichone or more of the UI elements are accessed.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 6, wherein theidentification of the feature comprises receiving an input on one ormore UI elements associated with the feature.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 8, wherein theproviding of the direct link to the one or more users of the applicationincludes sending the direct link to client devices configured to displaythe direct link within a directory of direct links accessible to the oneor more users.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 8, wherein theproviding of the direct link to the one or more users of the applicationincludes publishing the direct link to a search engine accessible byclient devices configured to run the application.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 to 10, wherein inresponse to the input received on the direct link, the direct linkinteracts with the one or more UI elements to navigate to theapplication feature without display of other portions of the applicationthat do not include the feature task to the second client device.

The subject matter described herein can be implemented in digitalelectronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware,including the structural means disclosed in this specification andstructural equivalents thereof, or in combinations of them. The subjectmatter described herein can be implemented as one or more computerprogram products, such as one or more computer programs tangiblyembodied in an information carrier (e.g., in a machine-readable storagedevice), or embodied in a propagated signal, for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus (e.g., aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple computers). A computerprogram (also known as a program, software, software application, orcode) can be written in any form of programming language, includingcompiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form,including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or another unit suitable for use in a computing environment.A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file. A programcan be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data,in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiplecoordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to beexecuted on one computer or on multiple computers at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification, includingthe method steps of the subject matter described herein, can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions of the subject matter describedherein by operating on input data and generating output. The processesand logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus of the subjectmatter described herein can be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processor of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carrierssuitable for embodying computer program instructions and data includeall forms of nonvolatile memory, including by ways of examplesemiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, flash memorydevice, or magnetic disks. The processor and the memory can besupplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

In the foregoing detailed description, various features are groupedtogether in one or more individual embodiments for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that each claim requires morefeatures than are expressly recited therein. Rather, inventive aspectsmay lie in less than all features of each disclosed embodiment.

The disclosed subject matter is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and to the arrangements of the components setforth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Thedisclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments and of beingpracticed and carried out in various ways. As such, those skilled in theart will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure isbased, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of otherstructures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposesof the disclosed subject matter. Therefore, the claims should beregarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they donot depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter.

Although the disclosed subject matter has been described and illustratedin the foregoing exemplary embodiments, it is understood that thepresent disclosure has been made only by way of example, and thatnumerous changes in the details of implementation of the disclosedsubject matter may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the disclosed subject matter.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving informationindicative of user interface (UI) elements of an application and inputsreceived by the UI elements, the application being executable by aclient device; and providing an object based on the receivedinformation, the object configured to enable the application to navigateto a feature of the application, wherein in response to an inputreceived on the object, the application navigates directly to thefeature.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the object includes a script.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating the scripthaving a sequence of steps for interacting with the one or more UIelements, wherein in response to the input received on the object, thesequence of steps are executed to navigate directly to the feature. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the sequence of steps includes a firststep of navigating to a static URL and a last step of triggering aninput on one of the UI elements.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein, inresponse to the input received on the object, the object interacts withthe one or more UI elements to navigate to the feature.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: analyzing the received information todetermine that a first one of the UI elements can be accessed using astatic URL and a second one of the UI elements cannot be accessed usinga static URL.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the received informationis indicative of inputs used to access the UI elements by a plurality ofusers during a plurality of user sessions, the method comprising:analyzing the received information to determine that a first one of theUI elements can be accessed using a URL that is the same for the sameuser across different user sessions and different for different users.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a frequency atwhich one or more of the UI elements are accessed; and identifying thefeature of the application based on the determined frequency at whichone or more of the UI elements are accessed.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein in response to the input received on the object, the objectinteracts with the one or more UI elements to navigate to the featurewithout display of other portions of the application that do not includethe feature.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providingthe direct link to one or more client devices.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the one or more client devices are associated with the sameorganization.
 12. A computer-implemented method comprising: receivinginformation indicative of user interface (UI) elements of an applicationand inputs received by the UI elements for a plurality of users duringplurality of user sessions; generating a link that directly navigates toa feature of the application based on an analysis of the receivedinformation; and providing the link to one or more client devices. 13.The method of claim 12, wherein the analysis of the received informationincludes determining a frequency at which one or more of the UI elementsare accessed by the users during the user sessions.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the analysis of the received information includesdetermining that a first one of the UI elements can be accessed using aURL that is the same for different ones of the users.
 15. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the analysis of the received information includesdetermining that a first one of the UI elements can be accessed using aURL that is the same for the same user across different ones of the usersessions.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the analysis of thereceived information includes determining that a first one of the UIelements can be accessed using a URL that is the different for the sameuser across different ones of the user sessions.
 17. The method of claim12, wherein the plurality of users are associated with two or moredifferent organizations.
 18. A device comprising: a processor; and anon-volatile memory storing computer program code that when executed onthe processor causes the processor to execute a process operable for:receiving information indicative of user interface (UI) elements of anapplication and inputs received by the UI elements, the applicationbeing executable by a client device; and providing an object based onthe received information, the object configured to enable theapplication to navigate to a feature of the application, wherein inresponse to an input received on the object, the application navigatesdirectly to the feature.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the objectincludes a script.
 20. The device of claim 19, wherein the process isfurther operable for: generating the script having a sequence of stepsfor interacting with the one or more UI elements, wherein in response tothe input received on the object, the sequence of steps are executed tonavigate directly to the feature.